What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
by ocfanatic2013
Summary: Sequel to Set Up For Disaster. Which will Rachel choose? Her first starring television role or starting her family with Santana? Find out her decision and how it affects the lives of her and her family. Rated T. Rating most likely will not go up.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the sequel to _Set Up For Disaster_. I felt like that story had come to a close, but I did not want to finish it. I enjoy writing this story. :) Enjoy!**

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><p>"Benny, come here." Santana giggled, reaching for their four year old son. The boy smiled and shook his head.<p>

"No Mommy!" he squealed, laughing.

"What are you two doing?" Rachel asked, smiling.

"Mama!" the boy exclaimed.

"Hi sweetheart." she said, smiling as he climbed in her lap. There was not a day in her life that she had regretted choosing to only stay on the show for half of a season so she could start her family with Santana. The couple had been married for almost five years and were still as strong as ever. Noah had donated the sperm, Santana had donated the egg, and Rachel carried their child. Lucy had gotten her brother that she wanted so badly and Rachel and Santana had gotten their child - Benjamin Mateo Lopez, though they just called him Benny. "Baby, Noah said that Lucy's teacher called again." Rachel said, raising an eyebrow.

"Again? That's the fifth time in two weeks." Santana said, sighing. Rachel shrugged. "What is wrong with that girl? She's nine. She's not supposed to be acting like this, not yet." she sighed.

"She's staying with us this weekend though, so you can ask her." As if on cue, the doorbell to their large apartment rang.

"Oh, I will." Santana said, opening the door. "Hey Pucky. Hey baby girl." she greeted.

"Hey S." he said, grinning.

"Hi Mom." Lucy said, smiling. Santana raised an eyebrow.

"Mom? Since when am I Mom?" she asked Noah as Lucy walked in.

"The same day I became Dad." he said.

"I want my Lion King watching baby back." Santana declared. Noah laughed. "Speaking of, what's up with her at school?" she asked.

"I have no idea. She won't tell me." he said.

"I'll talk to her." Santana promised.

"Benny!" Lucy exclaimed happily. The boy giggled an hugged his sister. "Hi Rachel." she said. Rachel flinched, having become accustomed to Mama.

"Lucy Ray, what has gotten into you?" Santana demanded. Lucy shrugged and went to her room. "You okay?" she asked her wife.

"Since when am I Rachel?" she whispered.

"I'll talk to her." Santana said.

* * *

><p>"What do you think you're doing?" Santana asked, opening Lucy's door to see her trying to change her room.<p>

"I don't like this anymore." Lucy said.

"It's the room that Rachel designed for you, though." Santana pointed out.

"Maybe I want a change." the girl snapped.

"Okay... We can change your room. What is going on with you? I get that you want to grow up and stop calling us Mommy and Daddy, but ever since Rachel and I got married you've called her Mama. Why are you calling her Rachel again?" Santana asked. Lucy shrugged. "Lucy Ray Puckerman, I want an answer." she demanded.

"I don't want you to be married anymore." Lucy whispered.

"Why not?" Santana asked quickly.

"Cause the kids in my school make fun of me for it." Lucy said. Santana bit her lip as she noticed a slight bruise on her daughter's face.

"How did that happen?" she whispered.

"A girl." Lucy said. Rachel slipped into the room.

"Benny is napping." she said. Santana pointed to the bruise. "What? How?" Rachel asked.

"I'm sorry Mama." Lucy whispered. Rachel hugged her.

"It's okay sweetie... Who hit you?" she asked gently.

"A girl. She said that you and Mommy being married was wrong." Lucy said.

"I want her out of that school." Santana declared. Rachel kissed Lucy's head.

"Why don't you lay down? Mommy and I are going to go talk." Rachel said, pulling Santana out of the room. "San, calm down." she ordered.

"Some kid hit my baby. I'm not going to calm down." Santana said.

"I understand that you're furious. I am too. But we need to talk to Noah about this as well, considering that he's the only one that can pull her out of that school." Rachel explained. Santana nodded.

"I get it. Thanks for calming me down, baby." Santana said.

"Where Lucy go?" Benny asked. Santana and Rachel turned around.

"Why are you up?" Rachel asked. He bit his lip. "Benjamin Mateo..." she said warningly. Even at four, the boy knew that his full name, especially in that tone, was bad.

"I want Lucy. Miss her." he said, yawning. Santana smiled and picked up the boy.

"You can play with Lucy after nap time baby boy. I promise. But right now you gotta go to sleep, okay?" she said gently. He nodded sleepily. "That's my good boy. Let's get you to sleep." Santana said, walking to her son's room.

"Love you Mommy." he said, kissing her cheek as she put him down.

"I love you too baby boy." she said, tucking him in before kissing his forehead. "So much." she whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

"Where's Rachel?" Noah asked as Santana walked into Lucy's school's front office.

"Someone had to watch Benny and besides she said that since we're listed as Lu's parents and she's listed as the emergency contact that we should be the ones here." the Latina explained

"But that was her idea." Noah pointed out.

"Yea, I don't understand her sometimes." Santana said, smirking.

"Mrs. Lopez, Mr. Puckerman, he'll see you now." the secretary said. Santana nodded and stormed into the office.

* * *

><p>"I don't care what you have to do. I want my daughter out of this school. I will not let Lucy be bullied, especially because of this." Santana said.<p>

"Mrs. Lopez, I hope you don't think that Lucy will be getting special treatment because you and your wife are famous." the principal said.

"I don't want her to have special treatment. I want you to do your job and stop these kids from hitting my daughter." Santana exclaimed. Noah nodded in agreement. "Puck, sign whatever you have to do get her out of this school." she ordered

"S... We don't have another school." Noah whispered. The principal sighed.

"Look, winter break is in a week. Can you wait that long?" he asked

"Do you know what can happen in a week? Kids are mean, they're cruel! My daughter could get hurt!" Santana exclaimed.

"She'll be okay." he assured her.

"She better be." Noah warned. Santana nodded and stalked out of the room.

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><p>"We're immediately looking for a private school." Santana said as they walked into her and Rachel's apartment.<p>

"How'd it go?" Rachel asked from the living room. Santana growled angrily as she sat down next to Rachel. "That bad?" she guessed.

"Stupid principal won't do anything and won't let us pull her out until the end of the semester." she said, kissing Rachel's cheek. The Broadway star giggled.

"Easy tiger." she teased. Santana rolled her eyes and laid down, resting her was in Rachel's lap.

"Where are the kids?" she asked, yawning.

"Lucy and Benny are playing." Rachel said. Santana nodded.

"I'm gonna go talk to Lucy and see how she feels about all of this." she said, getting up and walking into Lucy's room. "What are you two up to?" she asked, chuckling as she watched Benny try to tackle his sister.

"Wrestling!" Benny giggled, running to his mom and hugging his arms around her legs.

"Hey baby boy." she said, picking him up and kissing his cheek. "I need to talk to Lucy for a minute. Is that okay?" she asked.

"Okay Mommy." he said, squirming until he was put down. Santana closed the door and sat down next to her daughter.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked. Santana took a deep breath.

"Daddy and I went to your school today and... You can leave the school if you want. Daddy and I can find you a private school." she said.

"I don't want to stay, Mommy." Lucy said.

"You don't have to, baby girl. But... You do have to stay until the end of this semester, which is next week." Santana said. Lucy nodded slowly. "You'll be okay, baby girl." Santana promised.

"Okay." Lucy whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

"You know what?" Santana asked Rachel as they got ready.

"What?" the diva asked.

"That school is fortunate for three reasons." the Latina said.

"And they are?" Rachel asked as she finished up her makeup Santana grinned at her wife and kissed her cheek.

"Number one, Lucy wasn't seriously injured. Number two, nobody bothered her for the last week of school. And number three, I was able to find a nice private school for her." she said. Rachel laughed as she pulled Benny in front of her, her heart breaking as she noticed his disappointment at having to wear a suit.

"I know you don't like it, handsome, but this is what Aunt Quinn wants you to wear and it's her wedding." she said as the boy fussed with his suit.

"Its a vow renewal, not wedding." Santana corrected, straightening the boy's tie. "You do look handsome, though." she said, kissing his cheek.

"Where's Lucy?" Rachel asked. Santana fixed her lip gloss.

"With Beth. They'll be here soon. Quinn asked me to make sure that they got ready. Wait... Where is Patrick?" she asked, looking for Finn and Quinn's five year old son. Beth and Lucy were the flower girls and Patrick and Benny were the ring bearers.

"Don't wanna wear it Auntie Tana." the blonde boy said, walking over as he tried to remove the tie.

"Oh, I know, but your Mommy will be mad if you do, so... I think we all agree you should wear it." she said. Patrick nodded and huffed. "You both look handsome. You're gonna steal the spotlight from Quinn." the Latina woman declared.

"San!" Rachel said, giggling.

"Its true!" Santana said as Lucy and Beth walked in. "Lets get you two ready."

* * *

><p>"Sanny!" Rachel singsonged. Santana giggled.<p>

"Okay, honey. I'll dance with you." she said, pulling her wife onto the dance floor. The Latina wrapped one arm around her waist as her wife placed her hand on her own shoulder and grabbed Rachel's free hand in her own, pulling her close.

"You know, we've spent most of today telling the children and Quinn how beautiful and handsome they look, but I'm not sure I've told my wonderful wife how beautiful she looks." Rachel said. Santana grinned and leaned down, kissing her wife softly.

"You look beautiful too, Rach." she whispered. Rachel smiled. "So how do you like Lima?" Santana asked.

"You ask me that every time we visit." Rachel pointed out. Santana shrugged. "And every time I tell you that Lima is a wonderful town." she continued.

"But you love New York, right?" Santana teased. Rachel laughed and looked past Santana.

"It's time to go." she declared.

"Why?" Santana asked.

"Because Benny fell asleep in your mother's lap and Lucy is soon to follow in your dad's." Rachel said. Santana turned around. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Oh... Almost midnight. Let's go home." Santana said, walking over. "_Hola, Mami, Papi_... Sorry about those two." she said, grinning.

"It's no problem _mija._ If you two want to stay we can take them to our house." her father said.

"We'll go too." Rachel said, stroking Lucy's hair as Santana picked Benny up.

"I'll carry her." Santana's father offered, standing up as the group walked over to Finn and Quinn.

"Hey Q. We have to take off." Santana said, smiling at her sleeping son. Quinn nodded. "We'll come see you before we go back to New York." she promised.

"Bye guys. Thanks for everything." the blonde said.

* * *

><p>"I'm glad we found a good private school to put Lucy in next semester." Rachel whispered as they tucked the kids into bed. Santana smiled and pulled her wife into her childhood bedroom.<p>

"So am I. I can't believe she was getting bullied because we're married." she said, changing into her pajamas.

"Honestly, I can." Rachel said softly. Santana looked over to see sadness in Rachel's eyes as the Broadway star stared out the window.

"Baby..." she whispered, noticing tears and immediately walking over. "I know you went through the same thing growing up." Santana said softly, wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist and pulling her back into her front.

"I never thought I'd be still having those problems. I never thought my children would have to go through what I went through growing up." Rachel whispered. Santana paused.

"What do you mean?" she asked slowly.

"When I pictured my life growing up I never pictured my kids being bullied for having gay parents." Rachel explained.

"I see... How exactly did you picture your life?" Santana asked.

"Like every girl pictures it. I'd have my dream job, the picture perfect husband, and children." Rachel said, frowning as Santana pulled away. "Santana?" she questioned, turning around.

"Sorry I ruined your perfect life image." Santana whispered, slipping into the bed.

"Wait, what?" Rachel asked, getting into the other side of the bed.

"Let's see, uh... _'picture perfect husband?' _I'm not your _husband_. I'm your _wife_." Santana said, her back facing Rachel.

"Sweetheart, that's not what I meant." Rachel said. Santana sighed and turned off the light.

"Let's just go to bed." she said.

* * *

><p>"Morning." the Latina yawned the next morning as she walked into the giant kitchen to see her parents, her wife, and her children sitting at the table. "Was anyone going to wake me up?" she asked, walking over.<p>

"I wanted to but Mama said to let you sleep. But she made us wait to eat." Lucy said. Santana smiled and kissed Rachel's cheek as she slid into the chair next to her.

"Thank you." she whispered, smiling at Rachel to let her know that they were all right. "Lucy Ray, elbows off the table." she warned, grabbing food from the spread on the table.

"San, can we talk for a minute?" Rachel asked. Santana raised an eyebrow.

"Babe, I wants to get my breakfast on." she said.

"Please?" Rachel whispered. Santana bit her lip and nodded, standing up and following Rachel into the next room.

"If this is about last night, its okay. I'm over it, I promise. I overreacted." Santana said softly so that everyone else wouldn't hear. Rachel smiled.

"I'm sorry about that. I wasn't thinking when I spoke." she said.

"Rach, its okay. Let's just forget about it. When I was a kid I pictured myself with a husband too. Every girl does when they're little. But I got something better." Santana whispered, kissing the diva passionately.

"Let's go eat." Rachel said softly.


	4. Chapter 4

"Wake up!" Benny yelled, barreling through their bedroom door Christmas morning.

"Go away." Santana mumbled as the boy tugged at her hand that was dangling off the side of the bed. "Benny, stop it!"

"Santana, let him be excited." Rachel said, getting out of their bed and picking up their son. "Merry Christmas, baby." she said as Lucy poked her head in.

"Merry Christmas. Where's Mommy?" she asked. Rachel pointed at Santana.

"All right, all right! I'm up!" Santana said, sitting up. "What do you guys want? It's not like Santa brought presents. Kids who wake their mommy up early don't get presents." she said. Rachel rolled her eyes and Benny started crying.

"Nice job, Santana." Rachel hissed.

"Oh baby boy, come here. Of course you get presents." Santana said, hugging the boy.

"Promise?"

"Of course I do."

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><p>"What do you say to Grandma and Grandpa?" Santana said as she held Benny in her lap while chatting on Skype with her parents.<p>

"Thank you!" the boy said. Santana grinned and kisses her son on the cheek.

"I'll talk to you guys later. Love you." she said, ending the chat. "You tired, baby boy?"

"No. Want to watch Frosty." he said. Santana grinned and looked at Rachel.

"Can we, Mama? Please?" she asked, pouting.

"Of course we can. I'll put it in." Rachel said, putting the disc in as Santana stood up.

"Don't start it yet. Lu, go take Benny in your room for a few minutes so Mama and I can set up a surprise for you guys." she said, smiling.

* * *

><p>"You got everything set up in there, Rach?" Santana asked as she brought in more supplies.<p>

"I believe so." the diva said, smiling.

"Great. Lu, Benny come out here!" she called out. The kids came out and stared in shock. Their moms had set up a buffet type thing with practically every type of junk food that was in their pantry. There were several different types of chips along with the meat, cracker, and cheese platter Rachel had made earlier in the day and Christmas cookies.

"Mommy and I thought you two deserved a treat. Tomorrow I go back to regulating how much junk you eat. All we ask is that you don't make yourselves sick." Rachel said, curling up next to Santana on their sectional. "Come on guys."

"Thank you." they said, Lucy sitting next to Santana and Benny sitting on Rachel's lap.

"You're welcome." the brunettes said, smiling at each other.

"Merry Christmas, Rachel." Santana whispered as Rachel rested her head on her wife's shoulder.

"Merry Christmas Santana."


	5. Chapter 5

"What if they don't like me?" Lucy asked as Santana walked into her new elementary school with her. Santana looked down to see fear all over her daughter's face.

"Baby girl, Daddy and I chose a school that we thought would be best for you. We talked with the principal and explained the situation. He assured us that nothing like that would happen here." she said, crouching down so that she was eye level with her daughter. Lucy bit her lip. "Sweetie, I would never send you to a place where I wasn't one hundred percent certain you would be safe."

"Okay." Lucy whispered. Santana smiled softly.

"Come on, baby girl. We gotta get you in there." she said, standing up and walking into the main office. "Hi, I have an appointment with Principal Roberts." she said, smiling at the receptionist.

"Mrs. Lopez?"

"Yes." she confirmed.

"He's ready for you. Go on in." Santana smiled.

"Thanks. Come on, Lu." she said, pulling Lucy into the office with her.

"Mrs. Lopez, its good to see you again." the principal said, shaking her hand.

"Its good to see you too. This is my daughter, Lucy." The man smiled down at the girl. "Lucy, say hi."

"Hi." Lucy said softly. The principal crouched down so that he was at her height.

"Your parents told me about what happened at your old school. I bet you're nervous about today, huh?" Lucy nodded slowly. "Don't be. I give you my word that nothing bad will happen to you here." he promised. Lucy smled softly. "How about we get you to class?"

"Okay." He stood back up.

"You've filled out all of the necessary paperwork, right?" he asked Santana. The Latina nodded and handed him a folder. "Thanks. I promise that she's in good hands here."

"Okay." Santana said slowly.

"You look a little apprehensive as well." he commented, chuckling. Santana smiled.

"You have to understand where I'm coming from. I just had to pull my nine year old out of a school because she was being both physically and emotionally bullied for my sexuality and the principal was a homophobic jerk who wouldn't do anything about it." she admitted. He nodded.

"I understand. I promise that I will not let anything bad happen to her. If she tells you that someone is bullying her, come straight to me." he said. Santana nodded.

"Thank you." she said, crouching down. "Baby girl, you're gonna go with Principal Roberts, okay? I'm gonna leave, but I'll be back to pick you up at three, okay?"

"Okay Mommy." Lucy whispered. Santana smiled and pulled her daughter into a hug.

"I love you."

"Love you too, Mommy." Santana pulled away, kissed her temple, and stood back up.

"I'll see you later, baby girl."

* * *

><p>"How much did you cry?" Rachel teased when Santana walked into the apartment. The Latina glared at the diva as she sat down on their couch.<p>

"I didn't cry at all, thank you very much." she retorted. Rachel smirked and kissed her wife. "I almost did though. She told me that she was scared to go in and she looked so nervous. It was heartbreaking, Rach."

"I can imagine. She looked nervous while I was helping her get ready this morning." Rachel explained. Santana nodded. "You did the right thing by getting her out of that school. You're an amazing mother, Santana."

"Hey, you're not so bad yourself. I could tell you had a motherly instinct from the moment you first met Lucy back when we were fake dating. You've always been a good mother to Lucy and Benny." Rachel smiled softly. "That's why I know that you really are the one for me. Sure, I tried dating after Puck and I divorced, but nobody ever clicked that well with Lucy. Not as quick or as well as you did. That was always a dealbreaker."

"Glad I passed the test, then." Rachel replied. Santana smiled.

"So am I." she whispered, kissing her wife.

* * *

><p>"Did you have a good day?" Santana asked as she walked home with Lucy. The little girl nodded. "Did you make any friends?"<p>

"Yea. This girl Taylor and this boy Peter. We played at recess."

"Are they in your class?" the Latina asked. Lucy nodded. "I'm happy for you, baby girl. Mama and Daddy are going to be happy too."

"I'm glad we moved, Mommy." Lucy said, smiling a genuine smile, one that Santana had rarely seen lately, at her mother.

"So am I baby girl. I'm happy to see a real smile on your face again. That's how I know it was the right decision." she siad. Lucy nodded and hugged her mom. "I love you sweetheart.

"I love you too."


	6. Chapter 6

"So, Lucy, are you enjoying your new school?" Rachel asked as they sat down at their dining room table for dinner. Lucy had moved in with Rachel, Santana, and Benny since her new school was closer to their house than Noah's.

"Yea. Nobody there is mean to me. Everyone is really nice and I'm learning a lot." the girl said as she at her dinner. Santana smiled at her daughter.

"I'm really happy for you, baby girl." she said as she heard giggling from her other side. "What're you doing goofball?" she asked as Benny made his french fries walk across the table.

"Benny, sweetheart, don't play with your food." Rachel scolded gently. The boy nodded and put his food back on his plate. "Thank you." Benny looked up at Santana, who winked at him. "So you like your teacher?" Lucy nodded.

"She's really nice and she says that I'm the best speller in the class." she said. Santana grinned.

"You definitely got that from me and not your father." she said. Rachel rolled her eyes. "What? It's true!"

"Don't be immature." Rachel said, smiling. Santana rolled her eyes playfully. "We're both really happy for you, Lu."

"We really are, baby girl. We've even decided that next year Benny is going to go to your school. He's not going to experience public school. We're really sorry that you had to be the one to go through that, but you might have saved your brother from being bullied."

"I protected him?" Lucy asked. Santana nodded. "That's good right?"

"It's very good." Rachel said. Lucy smiled. "I'm a good big sister."

"Yes you are." Santana said, smiling at Rachel.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry its short, just trying to get back into this story!**


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